Riley wonders why the phasors for
iC
and
ΔvC
are always at 90° with respect to each other, and asks Wyatt to explain it. Which explanation is correct?
"When the capacitor is fully charged, the voltage across the capacitor is maximum, and so the current is also maximum. When the capacitor is fully discharged, the voltage across it is zero, and the current is also zero. Therefore, the voltage reaches its maximum value one-quarter of a period before the current reaches its maximum value.""The current in the circuit is zero at the moment when the capacitor reaches its minimum charge, so the voltage across the capacitor is a minimum. The current is a maximum at the instants when the capacitor is fully charged and begins to discharge with the opposite polarity. When the capacitor is fully charged, the voltage across it is a maximum." "The voltage across a capacitor is directly proportional to the change in current. When the current
iC
in the circuit is a maximum, it is momentarily not changing, so the voltage across the capacitor is zero. When the current is zero the rate of change of current is at a maximum. Therefore, the voltage across the capacitor is also at a maximum. The voltage reaches its maximum value one-quarter of a period before the current reaches its maximum value.""The current in the circuit is zero at the moments when the capacitor reaches its maximum charge, so the voltage across the capacitor is a maximum. The current is a maximum at the instants when the charge on the capacitor is zero and begins to recharge with the opposite polarity. When the charge is zero, the voltage across the capacitor is zero."